UW Launches DNA 'Fin-Printing' Project To Study Salmon

November 15, 2007

Release from: Associated Press

SEATTLE - Researchers at the University of Washington plan to use salmon DNA samples they call "fin-printing" to create a genetic database for North Pacific salmon and track their ocean migration.

The database of genetic information about thousands upon thousands of fish will be open to fisheries managers, treaty-makers and other scientists, the university said in a news release Thursday.

Fisheries scientists have previously tracked salmon migration by tagging juvenile fish and then hoping fishermen would return the metal or plastic tags.

Several state and federal agencies in the United States and Canada have been collecting salmon genetic information for more than 20 years. This project aims to combine and merge all the existing databases plus gather much more information in a uniform way.

UW researcher Lisa Seeb, who until this fall worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said one goal of the new project in the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences is to improve international relations.

She and her husband and fellow researcher, Jim Seeb, are known for their work using single nucleotide polymorphism markers for tracking salmon migration.

This "fin-printing" project will be paid for by a $4.1 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation of San Francisco.